Since Graphic Classics began re imagining classic works of literature in comic book form it has covered a wide array of stories and authors. I have written about their Oscar Wilde volume, their Gothic horror anthology and most recently I wrote about their African American Classics.

Their newest work is a little unusual and instead of covering a genre, time period, or author, it presents a double faced volume containing classic stories concerning a subject near and dear to many readers, as well as a great many writers throughout the ages -- dogs and cats.

One side of volume 25 of Graphic Classics is entitled Canine Classics, but flip it over and there we see the other side -- Feline Classics. Each side of the deceptively slim volume is packed with stories from famous authors celebrating, or in some cases (mostly on the feline side) penning terrifying tales of our loyal friends. There are 21 different stories and poems, regardless of which end you start reading from.

For me the stand out stories from the dog end are “The Mixer,” by P.G. Wodehouse and Ray Bradbury’s “The Emissary” which starts out saccharine sweet before ending with a stomach turning twist. Wodehouse’s story is a perfect little tale of a dog’s life as he goes from rags to riches and is told from his innocent point of view as he tries to unravel the strange ways of the human beings he lives alongside. Bradbury, always taking stories to their most surreal conclusion, penned a story in 1947 that would be at home in today’s pop culture landscape, though it hits far harder than anything like it I have read in recent times.

On the cat side, there more dark territory, accurately reflecting our often troubled relationship with cats throughout history. We may have brought them into our homes and some cultures worshipped them alongside the gods, but for many people there is darkness in cats. In literature this has been visited time and again and here we find two especially chilling tales; Algernon Blackwood’s “Ancient Sorceries” and Robert E. Howard’s “The Beast from the Abyss.”

Not as well known as some of the other authors featured here, Blackwood’s “Ancient Sorceries” is a tale of madness and psychic trauma while Howard’s piece is less supernatural and more reflective of the true nature of cats, but is no less chilling. On the other hand we also have the humorous tale of “Tobermory” by Saki, a story which perfectly recounts the true nature of the haughty cats so many of us share our homes with.

Graphic Classics are not something you might find on your comic book shop’s shelves, but they are definitely worth checking out as they travel through time and space and bring us new visions of classic tales. Running the gamut from stories almost everyone has read in school to hidden literary gems the series brings to life literature in a way that anyone can appreciate, not just comic fans. This particular volume is one of those that explores some of those hidden gems and looks at relationships that have changed three different species irrevocably and led us to live richer lives on and off the page.